Intrinsic flow behavior in a slurry bubble column: A study on the effect of particle size

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

The influence of particle size (dP) and solid concentration (Cs) on the hydrodynamics of a slurry bubble column were studied experimentally using ultrafast electron beam X-ray tomography. Experiments were carried out for dP=50-150μm at Cs=0-0.20 and superficial gas velocity UG=0.02-0.05m/s in a slurry bubble column of diameter DT=0.07m. The real time 3D gas flow structure, average bubble diameter and averaged gas hold-up were found to be independent of dP and Cs at small dP≤100μm and low Cs≤0.03, however, at large dP and high Cs, strong dependency on dP and Cs were observed. Corresponding three-phase simulations were also performed using the Euler-Euler multi-fluid model implemented in CFX 14. The bubble size distribution was calculated using the MUSIG model. The predicted gas hold-up and bubble size distribution also shows dependence on dP and agreed quite well with the measurements and previous studies.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)401-411
Number of pages11
JournalChemical engineering science
Volume93
Publication statusPublished - 9 Apr 2013
Peer-reviewedYes

Keywords

Keywords

  • Euler-Euler modeling, Gas hold-up, MUSIG model, Slurry bubble column, Three-phase flow, Ultrafast electron beam X-ray tomography